Flesh and Blood
by Master of the Pen Dance
Summary: I found a mistake in chapter one so I had to fix it up. Don't worry, it's still the same story. Just a few fixes. Hope you like this version better.
1. Flesh and Blood

Flesh and Blood

Characters: Naruto Chouji Shikamaru Ino

It wouldn't be called a FANfiction if I was the creator, now would it?

Naruto let out a huff when he saw the dark rainclouds.

"Not today," he whined. "The guys and I were going to play soccer." He was standing outside with his father who was just getting into his car to go to work.

His father slammed the car door, and rolled down the window. "You'll just have to do something to do indoors." He paused for a second. "I've got it. There's a new exhibit from Egypt at the museum. Why don't you check it out?

"Thanks, dad," Naruto said unenthusiastically.

His father shrugged. "Well, I tried," he said, rolling up the window and starting the car.

Naruto watched his father drive off, then went inside and flopped down on a well-worn easy chair. The newspaper was on the coffee table, and Naruto absentmindedly began to flip through it when an article about the Egyptian exhibit caught his eye.

A moment later he was on the phone with his friend Chouji.

"It sounds really cool!" Naruto said excitedly. "It's a real mummy on loan to the Single Falls History Museum. And get this--the article says that the mummy was some royal person who got into big trouble and was cursed!"

Chouji snickered. "Yeah right." Then he let out a big sigh. "Well, there's nothing better to do."

Within the hour Naruto and Chouji were waiting in the lobby of the museum. Chouji had also called Shikamaru and Ino to join them, and the two were walking up already.

"Hey, guys," said Shikamaru, a lanky boy wearing jeans and a sweat shirt.

"Hey, Shikamaru," Chouji responded. "Hey, Ino," he called to a young girl pushing her way through the turnstile.

Ino grinned. "So let's go see this creepy mummy dude," she said."Maybe he's cute."

The museum was made up of five small, separate wings. The Egyptology wing had scale models of pyramids and displays of ancient Egyptian relics. In the middle of the room was the mummy, and the kids made a beeline for it.

"Wow, cool!" Shikamaru exclaimed, leaning over the railing. The sarcophagus was tilted up, making it easier for the kids to see the dry, shriveled body inside.

"Gross," said Ino, turning away. The mummy was the dark color of swamp mud. Bits of rotted cloth hung from it, and a few wiry tufts of hair seemed plastered to the grinning skull.

"Yep," Naruto said with a smile. "There he is...in the flesh, so to speak."

"Ino giggled at Naruto's joke, then went over to read the sign on the wall beside the display. "It says here that he was an Egyptian prince," she reported. "It seems he was a nasty character and a lot of people disappeared during his reign. Yuck!" she shrieked in disgust. "He was accused of draining blood from others. It says he thought the life force of his victims would keep him young forever. When he got caught, they killed him by draining away all of _his_ blood."

"Freaky." Chouji gazed in awe at the dry corpse. "So much for living forever. He's dead as a doornail."

Shikamaru widened his eyes. "Maybe not. Perhaps," he kidded in a deep, heavily accented voice, "perhaps he is merely sleeeeeeping. And when the moon is full he will awake and take his revenge." The others chuckled as Shikamaru drew one arm into his chest, held the other arm out, and limped, stiff-legged, toward Ino.

"Go away, you idiot!" She laughed and pushed him away.

Naruto stared at the mummy. "Maybe Shikamaru's onto something," He mused.

Ino shook her head. "Uh-uh. They dug up thus guy nearly a year ago and he hasn't moved a muscle...full moon or not."

"Maybe conditions weren't right," Shikamaru said half seriously. "Or maybe he really does get out of his coffin and stalk the city at night. No one can watch him every minute, so there's no way to know for sure."

"Yes there is!" Naruto said enthusiastically. "We could stay over tonight and watch him! Looks like the old guy could use some company anyhow."

Shikamaru shook his head. "Naw, my mom expects me home by supper time. Besides, the guards won't let us stay in here all night."

"You can call your mom and say you're spending the night at my house. We can all come up with something," Naruto reasoned. "And those old guards won't be any problem. We can hide in the bathroom until they lock up. The museum doesn't even have a night watchman, just a guard service that drives up every once in a while. I know because my uncle Jiraiya works for the service."

Ino didn't seem convinced. "I don't know," she said hesitantly. "What if we want to get out?"

"Naruto grinned. "There's a window by the delivery entrance. Jiraiya's complained that he's found it open a couple of times. I'll just check to make sure it isn't latched."

"But the alarm system will go off if we go trough the window," Shikamaru pointed out.

"So what?" Chouji said, grinning. "We'll be long gone by then. I say we do it."

"C'mon," Naruto coaxed. "It'll be fun!"

Shikamaru and Ino looked at each other and nodded. Then they each went off to call home.

The guard opened the bathroom door and stepped inside for a final check before closing for the night. Standing up on the toilet in the last stall, Naruto held his breath. Finally the guard let the door swing shut and Naruto let out a big sigh. Chouji and Shikamaru, in the stalls on either side of him, did the same. They waited a few more moments, then Chouji tiptoed to the door and peered out.

"He's gone," Chouji whispered hoarsely. Then all of a sudden he drew back. "Somebody's coming!"

The boys pressed themselves against the wall as the door swung slowly open again.

"Having fun?" Ino asked peeking around at them. "You guys look pale," she said laughing.

"Very funny," Naruto muttered. "Look. it's getting dark. Maybe we could find some of the guards' flashlights. I don't fell like sitting around in here if we can't see anything."

"I've got a penlight on my key chain," Shikamaru offered. "We can use it to go through the storage closets."

After a search through a couple of closets, Shikamaru's idea paid off, and the four kids now shared two flashlights.

"It sure looks different in here now," Shikamaru murmured as they made their way to the Egyptology wing. It's spooky."

A dim light glowed here and there in various wall displays. It was definitely spooky, especially with each one of their footsteps echoing on the ceramic tile floor.

"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea," Chouji muttered.

Suddenly Ino froze. "What was that?" she cried out.

Chouji turned his flashlight in the direction of a rustling sound. The beam fell on a huge, shimmering face with blood-red eyes and sharp pointed teeth.

"YYYYYEEEEEAAAAAA!!" Shikamaru yelled.

"Chill out," Naruto shot back. "It's only a mask on the wall." He passed his light around the edge of the image so everyone could see the long, moss-green feathers that decorated it. One feather was moving slightly, creating the rustling sound. "There must be some air coming in from a vent," he guessed, trying to slow his rapidly beating heart.

"Well, I've had enough," Shikamaru said firmly. "You can call me a chicken if you want to, but I'm going home."

"I'm with Shika," Ino agreed. "You guys can stay, but I'm going home. Where's that window, Naruto?"

Chouji looked at Naruto. "They're right," he said. "There's no point in doing this if it isn't any fun. Let's go."

Naruto finally agreed, then led them through the spooky Egyptology wing, down a series of halls, and out the back to the delivery entrance. "There it is," Naruto said, shinning his light toward a small window about six feet up the wall. "See, the latch isn't hooked." He pointed to a big crate. "Help me push that underneath so we can reach it."

"Quickly the four kids shoved the crate over.

"OW!" Chouji complained. He held up a cut thumb for the others to see. "I'm going to the bathroom to wash it off. Shikaroo, hand me that flashlight. And don't you guys leave without me, OK? I'll be right back."

"Ah, fresh blood," Shikamaru said jokingly. "If there are any night creatures around, that bloody thumb should get their attention. Maybe it'll even wake up old King Tut in there."

"Shut up!" Ino demanded. She was almost in tears.

"Well, escuuuuse me! I was just joking. Don't have a cow. We'll be out here in a minute."

"Maybe we won't," Charlie said softly. There are bars across the window that are bolted from the outside. That must have been Uncle Jiraiya's idea."

"So now what are we going to do?" Ino moaned.

"We could just stay here until morning, then tell them we got locked in by accident," Naruto suggested.

Ino shook her head. "I don't want to stay here all night. This place gives me the creeps."

Naruto jumped of the crate snagging the sleeve of his dark blue sweater. "Then we'll have to call somebody to come get us," he said finally. "We can use the pay phone."

"Boy, are we going to be in trouble when-" Shikamaru began.

"Wait!" Naruto held up his hand. "I heard something. Hey...where's Chouji?"

Ino pointed a trembling finger toward the door that led back into the main part of the museum. "I-I thought he said he was going to the bathroom, right?" she stammered.

"Well, he's been gone a long time," Naruto said. "We have to look for him." He picked up his flashlight and motioned for the others to follow. "Chouji?" he called timidly.

Silence.

"Chouji, this isn't funny," he called again as they entered the room where the mummy was. Just then, Naruto's foot licked something, and he bent down to pick it up.

"The other flashlight," Ino said softly. "The one Chouji took with him."

Suddenly Shikamaru gasped and grabbed Naruto's wrist, turning it so the flashlight beam fell on something just below the sarcophagus. It was Chouji, laying on the floor in a crumpled heap.

"Oh no!" Ino raced to the boy and turned him over, then covered he mouth to hold back a scream. Chouji was, pale. His lips looked pasty white and his skin was slightly shriveled.

"I don't believe this," Shikamaru said with a gasp barely able to speak. "The mummy...look at the mummy." He leaned in to get a better look as if he couldn't believe his eyes.

Naruto felt as if something had sucked the air completely from his chest when he saw that the mummy's flesh looked fresher and more lifelike. The fingers looked if they could simply reach out and...

"Look out!" he screamed. But it was too late. The mummy had gripped Shikamaru around the neck and lifted him off his feet as if the 110-pound boy weighed nothing.

"Help me!" Shikamaru shrieked, trying to pry away the mummy's fingers, now squeezing his throat. Lunging forward, Naruto grabbed Shikamaru's shoulders and tried to pull him away, while Ino picked up a carved stone figure from a nearby display and beat the mummy's powerful arms. But nothing seemed to stop the wretched thing, and within seconds Shikamaru went limp. Naruto and Ino backed away as they saw their friend's skin slowly dry and shrivel, while that mummy appeared even more vital.

Then the life-sucking creature tossed Shikamaru's body aside, and clumsily bagan to struggle from the sarcophagus.

"We've got to get out of here!" Naruto yelled, grabbing Ino by the hand.

"How?" she screamed. "We can't get by it!"

The grotesque being drew in a raspy, labored breath that sounded like the wind rushing down the corridors of an ancient tomb. It threw back its head and howled, raising its pale nearly rejuvenated arms into the air. Then it stopped as if to listen. Slowly it turned from one side to another.

"Can it see us?" Ino whispered.

"In answer, the thing turned toward them and moved awkwardly in their direction.

"Let's rush it, then split off to either side of it.," Naruto whispered. And with no other choice, the two terrified kids raced towards the mummy, then skirted around it. They dashed for the bank of telephones in the lobby, then stood there helplessly. Neither had any change.

Naruto turned out his pockets inside out and only came up with dollar bills.

"What are we going to do?" Ino cried.

"Listen!" Naruto put his hand over her mouth. The creature's labored breathing echoed in the main chamber. "We've got to hide." Looking frantically around, the two finally decided on a small side room with a display of Civil War furniture. Together they slid under a huge canopied bed just as the sound of heavy footsteps stopped right outside the entrance of the room. Naruto squeezed Ino's hand. He could feel that she was shaking uncontrollably. He was in pretty bad shape, too. Droplets of sweat stung his eyes, but he was afraid to brush them away.

Everything was still-too still. Suddenly Ino screeched and began to slide from under the bed, feet first. "It's got my foot!" She cried, clawing the floor.

Naruto grabbed onto her hands but he could feel her slipping away from him. Then all at once, Ino was wrenched from his grasp.

Covering his ears to block out the sound of her tortured struggle, Naruto knew there was nothing he could do. Then he felt a powerful hand brush his own foot. _It's looking for me! _his mind shrieked. He kicked away at the mummy's fingers and rolled out from the other side of the bed. In the dim light from a mall display he could see that the mummy's body was almost completely renewed. All it needed was the life force of _one _more victim. But Naruto was determined to deny the monster. Dashing toward the main hall, he could see that the windows were barred there too.

Naruto knew that the front door was his only chance. He _had _to go for it, or the mummy would find him sooner or later.

Making up his mind, he picked up a chair and tossed it into a tall glass display that housed Early American farm tools. The glass shattered, showering the room with sharp splinters that bit through Naruto's sneakers. He inched toward the display and grabbed a long metal bar once used as a hoe. Then, racing to the front door, he began to pry at the lock. and to his relief a high-pitched alarm began to scream into the night.

"Please open!" Naruto cried.

Without turning, he could sense that the thing was behind him, perhaps only inches away. He could smell the stench of something that had ceased living many centuries ago...something that shouldn't be walking the earth again, but was. He felt the lock snap and suddenly give way. The door flew open and a rush of cold air burst in.

The first police car flew into the parking lot and screeched to a halt in a flurry of flying gravel.

"Look!" one of the officers yelled. "There's someone running toward the back of the building!"

"I'll get him," the second officer responded as she threw open her door and charged after the retreating figure.

Moments later she returned. "I lost him," she said, glancing at the other three cars that had arrived. "What's going on, Sergent?"

"It's a lot more than just a break-in," her partner answered. He pointed to a body just inside the front door.

The female officer gasped and turned , wearing a dark blue sweater, were the remains of a body-it was totally dry and withered.

"There's three more inside," another officer said, stepping out through the door. "This is impossible! What could have happened here?"

The female officer glanced up. "There's at least one person out there who knows," she said solemnly. "And we're going to try to find him."

From among the shadows on a hilltop overlooking the museum, something drew a deep, cool breath of air into fresh lungs. It felt the warm blood flowing once again through it's body. And with it's newly formed eyes, it gazed down at the lights of the small town that housed its unsuspecting prey...and it smiled.


	2. The Room at the End of the Hall

The Room at the End of the Hall

Characters: Hinata, Neji, Hanabi, Kakashi

It wouldn't be called a FANfiction if I as the creator, now would it?

Hinata's mom shook her head and pointing out of the car window. "Will you look at that?"

Hinata saw that her mom was indicating the weather worn mailbox at the edge of the overgrown front yard, which was leaning at a crazy angle.

Her dad pulled the family car into the dirty driveway and slowed to a stop. "Movers must have run into it," he speculated as he opened his car door, stepped out, and walked over for a better look. Grabbing the slightly dented post with both hands, he pulled the mailbox back into its proper position, then headed back to the car.

"Check it out, Dad," Hinata's eight-year-old brother, Neji, snickered as the post slowly keeled over again.

Her father looked back, shrugged, then slid back into the driver's seat. "I'll take care of it later," he said as he started the engine. "We have plenty to do already if we're going to transform this place into our home."

Hinata turned her attention to the old house at the end of the driveway. Even though the summer morning was clear and sunny, the two-story house looked dreary, as if a cloud hung over it. Something about the place definitely made her feel uneasy. The once white walls had grayed with age, and a few shingles were missing from the roof, but that wasn't all. No, the old house had an eerie feeling about it, so much so that Hinata actually shivered slightly as her dad pulled the car up alongside the white wooden porch.

"It may not look too great yet, but we'll whip it into shape," her mom said brightly, helping Hinata's four-year-old sister, Hanabi, out of her seat belt. "They just don't have houses like this in California---not ones we can afford, anyway." She smiled. "You kids are going to be surprised at how big it is inside."

"Don't mention California," Neji said with a pout. "I still don't understand why Dad can't be a doctor _there_."

Hinata watched her mother stiffen slightly as a frown tugged at the corners of her mouth. "We live in Iowa now, Neji," she said firmly, as she adjusted Hanabi's pigtails. "You'll have to make the best of it."

Their dad pulled open the screen door, fumbled with his keys for a moment, then unlocked the front door. "_Voila_," he said, pushing it open with a flourish. "Our new home."

Hinata's footsteps echoed on the hardwood floor as she stepped inside. She was surprised at the size of the entryway that led into the huge main room. "wow, this is great!" she said sincerely. "Are the bedrooms upstairs?" Then she glanced sideways at her brother. "I get first pick since I'm the oldest."

Neji started to protest, but their dad cut him off.

"That sounds fair to me," he said.

"Cool!" Hinata exclaimed as she worked her way around the stacks of cardboard boxes to a wide staircase that rose along the wall to the right of the front door. "I'm going to pick out my room right now!"

Gripping the smooth, curved banister, Hinata counted the stairs one by one as she went up. At the twenty-second step she found herself in a long hallway with several doors on either side all opened...except for the one at the end.

Making her way down the hall, she stopped and stared at the door. Suddenly a weird feeling passed over her, and for a moment she felt drawn to the room. She swayed slightly as if she might lose her balance.

"Whoa," she said aloud, thinking that maybe she had run up the stairs a little too quickly.

The uncomfortable feeling passed. Hinata turned and went back down the hall to inspect each room...until she found herself at the closed door. An unsettling notion flickered through her mind. _I know this room_, she thought, _I've been her before_,

"That's crazy," she mumbled under her breath, then reached for the nob and turned it. "I've never been to Iowa before."

The door opened with a light click and swung silently inward. Hinata carefully studied the room. Larger than any others except the one their mom and dad had chosen, it was painted a pale blue, and it had two large, wood-framed windows that looked down onto the backyard.

"_All right_, this looks cool," Hinata said and moved to step inside. But all at once the muscles in her stomach inexplicably tightened, and she felt a freakish surge of heat flood through her body. As a bolt of terror raced up her spine, she stumbled backward...right into a pair of hands that broke her fall.

"NEJI!" she yelled half in fear and half in relief.

"Who'd you expect? I live her now, too, remember?" he said sarcastically. "Now get off my foot. Your not exactly weightless, you know."

Hinata moved her foot and scowled at her brother. "Look," she shot back. "It's not my fault we had to move. So don't take it out on _me_."

"Of course not," he said with a smirk. "I wouldn't do anything to upset the family favorite. I suppose you've already picked out the biggest bedroom for yourself, right?"

Hinata looked back at the blue room. Something about it gave her the creeps, and she didn't want to even step across the threshold. "No. I want the room right at the top of the stairs. You can have this one if you want. It's the biggest besides Mom and Dad's."

Neji narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "What's wrong with it?"

"Nothing," Hinata lied. "I just like the other one better." She tried to cover up her nervousness by changing the subject. "Come on, let's go check out the backyard."

By the time she got ready for bed that night, Hinata was exhausted. For hours the entire family had moved furniture around and distributed boxes to the proper rooms. Even Hanabi had dragged a small box of stairs clumsily up the stairs..._thump_..._thump_..._thump_.

Too busy to think of much else but where to put everything, Hinata hadn't thought about the room at the end of the hall the entire day. But now in the quiet of her new room, she recalled the creepy feeling she'd had that somehow it had been familiar to her. In fact, just thinking about it made her stomach feel a little queasy, and she tried to calm herself by listening to the sounds of the crickets outside in the tall, dry grass.

Then she heard another sound. It was very soft, so Hinata had to strain her ears to figure out what it was. Finally she realized that someone was crying, and it was coming from the room at the end of the hall.

"Neji?" Hinata sat up and listened again. Yes, the crying was definitely coming from her brother's room. Shaking her head, she climbed out of bed. "He really is being a baby about this move," she whispered to herself.

After tiptoeing down the hall, she stood in front of Neji's closed door and carefully put her ear up against it.

The sound was much fainter now, as if it were coming from somewhere else. She was about to call out to Neji to see if she could make him feel any better---she _was_ his older sister, after all, and it was kind of her duty---when she remembered his "weightless" crack earlier in the day.

_He'll be OK by tomorrow_, she thought, yawning, as she walked back to her room. Stretching out on her bed, she made a promise to herself to try to be nicer to Neji until he felt better about the move. Then just before she drifted off to sleep, she noticed the crying had stopped.

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"Morning, honey," her mom said, smiling, as Hinata entered the kitchen the next morning. "There's fresh-squeezed orange juice in the refrigerator. Would you mind pouring some for everyone and putting it on the table?"

"No problem," Hinata answered, as she took five glasses from the cupboard and started to put one at each place. Then stopped.

"Mom, who isn't eating breakfast with us?" she asked.

"What do you mean, dear?" her mom asked responded while buttering toast.

"There're only four places," Hinata pointed out.

Her father walked into the kitchen carrying a giggling Hanabi.

"Of course there're only four places," he said with a smile. "Why? Were you expecting company?"

Hinata frowned. "What about Neji?"

"Neji who?" her dad said as he situated Hanabi in her chair and then sat down himself.

Hinata looked at both of her parents, then started to laugh. "OK, what's the joke? I'll admit that sometimes I wish we could send Neji to the moon, but we're stuck with him."

Hinata's mom and dad gave each other a quizzical look.

"C'mon, you guys." Hinata felt her smile fade. "This isn't funny anymore. I'm talking about Neji...my brother? You know...your son? The weird kid in the room at the end of the hall?"

Her mom shook her head. "Hinata," she said slowly. "You're right. This isn't funny. We don't have a son named Neji. We don't have a son at all. And the room at the end of the hall is Hanabi's. It has been for months, ever since we moved here."

For a moment everyone sat in complete silence. Hinata tried to make some sort of sense out of what her parents were saying.

Finally Hanabi broke the stillness. "I know a boy named Neji at school," she offered in a childish whisper. "He pushed me off the swings last week."

Speechless and about to break into tears, Hinata jumped up from the table and raced from the kitchen. As she ran to the stairs she could see that there were no longer any boxes in the living room. Everything was neatly in it's place as if it had been that way for some time.

At the top of the stairs she stopped. He head was spinning. She lurched to the end of the hall and opened the door to the room. Inside she saw Hanabi's small bed with a sky blue comforter on it. At the windows were ruffly blue curtains, and a shelf unit on the opposite wall was lined with dolls and stuffed animals. Her parents were right; this was definitely Hanabi's room.

"But how can this be?" she whispered, noticing that there was something else, too: a faint smell of charred wood and ash.

"You see?" Hinata's dad said softly as her walked up behind her and placed his hands gently on her shoulders.

Hinata didn't even try to wipe away the tears that were running down her cheeks. "This is crazy," she moaned. "I don't understand what's happening."

Her father smiled and gently turned her face towards his. "It isn't crazy, honey," he said. "You're obviously upset about something." He paused, then wiped a tear from her eye. "I tell you what. Maybe you're just tired. You've been working very hard at school. Why not just take the day off and stay in bed? Once you're rested up everything will be fine." He gave her a warm hug. "Listen, I've got plenty of work that I can do here, so you won't be alone. My partner can se my patients today, OK? So should I go call my office?"

Hinata didn't answer, and she didn't resist her father guiding her back to her room. She suddenly felt really tired. _It's just a dream_, she thought as he tucked her into bed. _I'll wake up soon and everything will be back to normal_.

It was early afternoon when Hinata awoke. She slipped out of bed and tiptoed to the top of the stairs. She could hear her father's voice. He was in the den downstairs talking on the phone to someone at his office.

Turning, she moved cautiously to the room at the end of the hall and peeked inside. Everything was as it had been that morning. Next she slipped into her parents' room. Against one wall stood a large oak chest of drawers. On the chest was a handmade lace runner, three cut-crystal perfume bottles, a small wooden bowl where her dad kept the change he emptied from his pockets, and a collection of family photographs in pretty frames. She looked at one photo after another and saw smiling faces of her mom, dad, Hanabi, and herself. But there were no photos of Neji.

Returning to her own room, she dressed quickly and hurried downstairs. When she opened the kitchen door it was remarkably cold outside for summer, but then she remembered that if several months had really gone by it could be fall or even winter. She grabbed her jacket from a hook by the door and slipped out.

Running to the garage, Hinata looked inside. Well, at least her dad's car was there, along with her bicycle and Hanabi's old tricycle. Surely Neji's bike would be there too...or his skateboard...or something to prove that he had ever existed. But there was nothing.

"What is happening?" she groaned. "Have I lost my mind?"

------------

That night at dinner, Hinata told her mom and dad that she felt much better, then chose to be silent. It wouldn't help to have them thinking that she was nuts, so keeping quiet until she figured things out seemed like the answer.

Hanabi chattered about her busy day at preschool, and her mom talked about the new project she was planning at the university. Every once in a while Hinata noticed her parents glance at her and then look worriedly at each other. Trying to appear as normal as possible, Hinata helped with the dishes after supper. Then claiming to be tired, she asked to be excused.

As she trudged up the stairs, Hinata noticed that she actually was exhausted. In fact, she had a little trouble breathing, and what she did take into her lungs had the scent of something burnt. She looked around for signs of smoke, but there were none.

Trying to shrug everything off as just her imagination, she climbed wearily into bed. But there was no way she could fall asleep. Instead, Hinata lay awake for a long time, listening as her parents put Hanabi to bed in the blue room at the end of the hall---Neji's old room. She heard the television go on for a while, and soon all was quiet. After a few more minuets of staring into the darkness, Brenda finally drifted off into a light, troublesome sleep.

But just a few hours later, after a lot of tossing and turning, Hinata opened her eyes. Once again she heard someone crying softly down the hall. She looked at the glowing numbers on her digital clock. It was three minuets past midnight.

"Hanabi?" she whispered, sitting up as she heard the cries growing slightly louder.

It sounded as if her sister was sobbing...just like Neji once did. A shudder ran through her and she leapt out of bed.

Quickly running down the hall, she threw open what was now her sister's door. The smell of smoke and soot stung her nostrils, and she recoiled in terror.

"Hanabi!" she screamed. But somehow she couldn't force herself to cross the threshold into the darkened room. Deep inside she knew she had to---her little sister was in danger---but instead she reeled back against the wall, helpless.

Suddenly the light in the room snapped on, and both of her parents were beside her.

"Hinata!" her mother cried, trying to hold her as Hinata squirmed away. "What's wrong honey?"

"It's Hanabi!" Hinata screamed. "You've got to help her. Didn't you hear her? She needs help!"

Her father grabbed her by the shoulders and gripped her hard.

"Brenda! Calm down! What are you talking about? Who is Hanabi?"

Hinata stopped. Her mouth dropped open and she stared at her parents as if they were total strangers.

"My sister," she finally whimpered. "My sister, Hanabi. Don't you remember? Don't you care? What's wrong with you? It's just like what happened with Neji. He disappeared from that room," she sobbed, pointing over the threshold into the awful place. "And you act like he never existed. Well, he was my brother. And Hanabi was my sister. And..." But Hinata couldn't go on. She broke into hysterical tears and let her father rock her gently in his arms.

"Hinata, sweetheart," her mother whispered. She was crying too. "You don't have a brother or a sister. You are an only child and you always have been. This is _our_ room. It has been ever since we moved here."

Hinata twisted away, turned toward the open door, and caught her breath. Inside the room she could see her parents' bed and the big oak chest of drawers. From where she was, Brenda could see the photographs in their pretty frames, photos of her with mom and dad...and no one else.

------------

The sound of a car pulling up in the driveway woke Hinata. Slowly she opened her eyes and gazed at the early morning sunlight pooled on the rug beside her bed. With great effort, she drew herself up and walked groggily to the window. There was an old pickup truck in the driveway, and a small sedan that she didn't recognize was parked behind it. For a moment she just stood looking out, thinking that there was something she should know, but she couldn't quite figure out what. Something had happened, she was sure of it...but what?

Turning from the window, she called for her parents, but there was no answer. Then she heard the front door open and close downstairs.

"Mom?" she called tentatively. "Dad? Is that you?"

But there was no answer.

Thinking that they just hadn't heard her, she started to go downstairs when she felt a stab of fear. The voices downstairs were those of strangers! _Where are my parents?_ Her mind raced. _Did they decide I was crazy and call these people to come get me?_

The door to the room at the end of the hall was closed. Cautiously Hinata eased to the head of the stairs. With her trembling hand just barely touching the rail, she leaned over to see who were there.

The foyer was still in shadow, but Hinata could make out two men standing just inside the front door.

"As you can see," the taller of the two said, "the fire didn't do much damage to the lower floor. The upper floor got the worst of it, and it was the smoke that got the family. Nice people, too," he added, shaking his head sadly. "They hadn't lived here all that long. Moved out from California."

Hinata felt her heart pounding. She glanced down at the railing under her shaking fingers and for the first time saw that it was charred and disintegrating. The wall behind her was scorched, and the smell of burnt wood hung in the damp air.

"Anyone know how the fire stared, Kakashi?" the smaller man asked.

"Looks like it started in the big room at the end of the upstairs hall," the man named Kakashi responded. "You'll see for yourself when we go up. Nothing's been touched since it happened, and that was about five years ago."

"Why hasn't anyone been in to clean the place up?" The smaller man looked around. "Looks like it was a nice place."

"Oh, superstition," Kakashi answered. "Anybody who's been in here claimed to have heard crying coming from that room. Some say the place is haunted." He laughed. "My wife believes it, too. She says that when people die suddenly like that, sometimes the spirits can't accept what has happened. They stay on until something makes them realize that they're really dead."

It was as if a weight had been lifted. Suddenly aware of all she needed to know, Hinata turned and looked toward the room at the end of the hall. Now the door was standing open. Slowly she walked toward it.

Neji had been first to accept it...then little Hanabi...and finally her parents. Now it was her turn to stop fighting it and accept what had happened. She stepped across the threshold---sad, but no longer afraid---and stood in the center of the room. Then Hinata took one last look at the faded blue flame-scarred walls and began to weep softly. She raised her hands to wipe the tears from her face and watched as she slowly disappeared.

Downstairs, the small man held up his hand for the other to be quiet. "did you hear that?" he said. "For a second I thought I heard someone crying."

"Oh, come on now. Don't tell me you're hearing things, too." Kakashi strained for a moment, then shook his head. "Nope. It's dead quiet."


End file.
